Arrests prompt request for more prep time in fraud trial

Anthony Fregenti, accused of running a Ponzi scheme, is trying to get ready for trial — except people related to his case keep getting arrested.

FRANK FERNANDEZSTAFF WRITER

BUNNELL — Anthony Fregenti, accused of running a Ponzi scheme involving motorcycles and exotic cars, is trying to get ready for trial — except people related to his case keep getting arrested.Defense attorney Harry Shorstein said during a hearing Wednesday that he needed more time to prepare for trial in part because two people related to the case were recently arrested."Your honor, this case has been plagued with a number of discovery problems," Shorstein told Circuit Judge J. David Walsh during a hearing at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center.Problem one: Michael Stevens of Palm Coast. Shorstein said he was seeking to depose Stevens and then finally got a subpoena to do so. But then Stevens was arrested Oct. 17 on a charge of money laundering in connection with the Fregenti case. Stevens might be able to refuse to answer questions in a deposition because of his arrest, Shorstein said."He was arrested, so obviously we can't take his deposition," Shorstein said of Stevens. Problem two: Devin Kolb, of Palm Coast, who was arrested on Nov. 14, also on a charge of money laundering in connection with Fregenti. It was unclear on Wednesday afternoon whether Kolb had been formally charged. Walsh set a pre-trial hearing for Fregenti for March 6 and the trial for March 25. Fregenti, 41, who lived in Palm Coast until moving to St. Augustine, has been charged with 33 felonies, including organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, securities fraud, sale of unregistered securities and sale of securities by an unregistered dealer, according to records. The charges are associated with businesses Fregenti ran in Flagler, most of which had "Dark Hawk" as part of the name.